Status Report Star date who knows what

August 20, 2024Musingsdiana Stone

I played a couple of gigs this weekend, one in a jolly irish run Pub in Watford and one in a Park in St Neots on a sunny afternoon with my trio 🙂

The landlady was Irish and did a Mrs Doyle when we arrived “Sure, and would you take a cup of tea” and told me her punters looked scary but were fine. So said no worry’s I have been playing in pubs for 20 years and had a beer instead. Neck Oil, which was nice.
Audience loving it but a few daft requests. We played outside in a shed open on one side. Garden had a barbecue going on. Women climbing on the tables and dancing and singing along. Not perfect musically as a different set because we didn’t have Clare with us. But it worked. Just like real life again. Audience of allsorts, a league of nations (Asian, Ukrainian, Black and Irish ) plus a birthday guy doing grandad dancing. That’s my tribe.

A pleasant gigging weekend like the old days almost with good humour and a bit of silliness. Today I am in recovery mode a little as the gigs were quite long and I don’t have stamina I used to either. A combination of age and being a bit out of condition post pandemic lock down. As I write unlike the last couple of days its very dull and a little on the cool side too. I am getting on with a few things but it will be a mostly chilled day. A new song brewing at present among other things. I do notice that I have been getting a tad grumpy latterly on my “rest” days recently. The paradox being the better things have gone the more of a come down it is afterward. I am doing a bit in my studio today though perhaps with slightly less gusto than is usual.

Had to laugh, a pub blues player complaining on facebook that pubs don’t pay enough so his band won’t play them. I have heard the same argument for about 10 years now. Going on about how expensive their music kit is. Felt like saying maybe you would get better gigs if you were actually decent entertainers, but I didn’t. I made a comment about the fact that pubs couldn’t pay so much as wet sales have reduced. I was broke before and I am am not much richer now. As Seasick Steve said “I started out with nothing and I have still got most of it left”. Live music is a special joy, interacting with the audience and the band. I really do enjoy every gig from the best even to the worst to some extent to be honest. The joy of the moment and all that.

Slowly we plod on though. What else is there?

Be All You Want To Be

Diana Stones Glasscage · Be All You Want To Be

Too Hot To Tango

August 14, 2024Musingsdiana Stone

Lets all eat frozen mango, but seriously what. It’s still hard going at present. Help.

Just before going to bed I tried for the 3rd time to see if I could spot a meteor. I sat down on the balcony mostly to cool off. Then as if by magic a really bright one went by almost horizontally and exploded in a bright flash. I can’t tell you all how pleased this made me feel that I have finally managed to see one. We also have had the Aurora which I may have seen a faint glimpse of though it could just be my dodgy ageing eyes. When its really hot keeping up with exercise to stop my body seizing up to much is also a bit of chore. And we stil have a very high pollen count as well.

This week it’s mostly practicing learning new band material. As i write it’s over cast and dull after several days of very hot and very bright sunshine. The temperature has gone from 33C to 21C in a day. I am very glad it is cooler but brighter would be nice though.

Today’s record in a day proggy effort. Keys and guitars. recorded in about 2 hours/ It’s just a bit of fun and very derivative.

Diana Stones Glasscage · Whoops 1972 Again

My tempers still a bit short too.

The Thin Veneer Is Starting To Crack

August 11, 2024Delta Ladies, Diana Stones Songs, glass cage, Musings, whateverdiana Stone

My mental health is playing up and pushing me off balance slightly again. Whoops.
A bit of a polish and buff up wont cover it this time. Ho hum. But we do what we can whilst we can. Or at least we try. At times I do think should I consider going back on to medications again, but I don’t think it would be any better as the medications really do numb everything. They are great in a crisis, and I was on them for several fairly long periods of time.Now though I am not sure. If I got to the point where I was not functioning well I would jump back on the train though I think. Writing it down makes it easier to deal with it as it puts me at one remove from myself almost. I am easily triggered at times though. Lived experience made me what I am, and that cannot be undone. I wonder how people with very severe trauma manage, but of course the answer is actually that often they simply don’t.

A friend in a band that I built a website for many years ago got in touch as he has a tech problem he needs fixing. He has just played his first gig at Cambridge Rock Festival after a year off due to recurring illness as he has MS and and also a serious back injury. I said I was glad he was gigging again and he replied:”The gig nearly killed me, but better to die with your boots on so to speak”. That’s my tribe.

Its the weekend as I write this and hopefully things will remain quiet after the disturbances last week. It’s been very disturbing for everyone. What happens next in British society is paramount. We have the opportunity to reboot the narrative now. There was a genuine grassroots demonstration of a feeling of solidarity and an outburst of common sense which may well have defused what could have been so much worse. But it is a little bit back to the future and somebody my age has seen it all before. So my faith in humanity is now slightly restored.

I did try to see the Perseids but sadly there was too much cloud cover here as is often the case. Still they will be around until the end of the month so there is a chance. Each night I try and look.